Omnicom-owned Red Urban is behind this latest project for Volkswagen Canada, which not only promotes the 2012 Jetta GLI, but serves as somewhat of a social experiment as well. Dubbed the “Great Volkswagen Art Heist,” the effort consists of pop-up “performance art” galleries that have sprouted up all over Canada which feature hand-numbered, framed light painting photos created by the light trails of the GLI. Motion and long-exposure stills cameras were used to film the trails and the end result is the paintings, which as you see above, have been coveted by a variety of people over the course of the last two weeks.

It helps that the artwork, place in random locations, isn’t hung so securely, but that’s the point of it all. VW wants you to steal the art and share it, which people have done via Facebook. But wouldn’t you feel the least bit guilty jacking the work if you had no idea what this was all about? Guess not, according to the clip. Anyhow, the second phase of “Art Heist” is rolling out in a matter of weeks and takes the hunt online and into social media territory.